Strong earthquake hits Sichuan province

The epicenter Kangding (red dot) is 325 km away from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. [Photo/CENT]

Sichuan -- A woman was killed and another 15 were injured after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, struck Kangding county, a lightly populated, mountainous area of Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Saturday.

The woman in her 70s died at the scene after being hit in the head by falling debris, said Chen Yunbing, a doctor with Ganzi People's Hospital.

Fifteen people were injured, and two residential building collapsed, according to authorities of Kangding County.

The quake struck at 4:55 pm Saturday, with its epicenter in Tagong Town, 37 km from the county seat, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

The quake zone has experienced 95 aftershocks so far, with the strongest one measuring 2.3 magnitude in Richter scale.

Minor cracks appeared in some airport buildings of the Kangding airport near the epicenter, but flights were not affected, said Tan Heng, a clerk at the airport.

About 100 students were in the Zuqing Primary School in Tagong when the quake happened. Some buildings had cracks but none collapsed and no casualties were reported, said Mao Yu, head of the publicity department of Kangding.

Citizens in Chengdu, the provincial capital, said they felt the quake strongly.

"The house window was shaking fiercely. Some people rushed out of the building," said a woman in Chengdu.